John Filan

Early career

Filan began his career playing for St. George Saints and Wollongong Wolves in the old National Soccer League in Australia. He trialled with a number of clubs in England, including Southampton, before joining Cambridge United in 1993 for a fee of £40,000.

Coventry City

In March 1995, Filan signed for Coventry City for a fee of £300,000. Initially third-choice goalkeeper at the club, he was handed his debut towards the end of the 1994–95 season when first choice keeper Steve Ogrizovic broke his leg, and backup Jonathan Gould was dropped following a poor performance. He retained his place in the starting lineup until Ogrizovic returned from his injury in November 1995.

Blackburn Rovers

Filan moved on to Blackburn Rovers in 1997, for a fee of £700,000. In August 1997, he suffered a broken arm in a 7–1 win against Sheffield Wednesday, an injury which kept him out of action for most of the 1997–98 season. He was relegated with Blackburn during the 1998–99 season, but received the club's Player of the Year award in recognition of his individual performances. He was replaced as first choice goalkeeper in November 2000, following the arrival of Brad Friedel.

Wigan Athletic

He joined Wigan Athletic in December 2001 for £600,000. He played all 46 league games in Wigan's Second Division-winning season in 2002–03, which included a run of eight consecutive clean sheets, setting a club record. He was an ever-present again in 2004–05 when…

Filan was a member of the Australian team that competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and finished in fourth place. As he has an Irish passport through his ancestry, he once sought to play international football for Ireland. However, FIFA ruled against it in February 1999 because he had played for the Australian Olympic team.

Filan returned to Australia in semi-retirement, resettling in his home town of Sydney. In August 2007 agreed terms with A-League side Sydney FC as backup to Clint Bolton, however the deal fell through citing outside issues. He eventually joined the club a year later as a goalkeeping coach. He later returned to England, and in 2014 he was appointed as an assistant coach of the under-21 team at his former club Blackburn Rovers. Filan was appointed as assistant manager to John Askey at League One side Shrewsbury Town in June 2018, having previously worked with Askey during his managerial tenure at Macclesfield Town. This role lasted only five months, with the whole management team departing after only four wins in seventeen league matches.

John Richard Filan was born on 8 February 1970 in Sydney, New South Wales.